333: Charles Chen: Elevate Your Life and Change Your Story

Charles Chen is a TV Host, Traveling Chef, Wellness Expert, Creator of Dinner Club based in Los Angeles & New York City. At one point in his life, Charles struggled with his health and weighed up to 260 pounds. Charles was pre-diabetic, lethargic, and had no motivation. Since then Charles has lost over 100 pounds, reclaimed his health through adopting a whole foods lifestyle and now passionate about helping others live their best life!

Charles was pre-diabetic, lethargic, and had no motivation. Since then Charles has lost over 100 pounds, reclaimed his health through adopting a whole foods lifestyle and now passionate about helping others live their best life!

Favorite Success Quote

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure” ~Marriane Williamson

Key Points

1. You Have the Power to Change Your Story in an Instant

How long does it take to change your life?

Does it take months, years, decades?

Or is it possible to change your life and your story in an instant and with one single decision?

I believe that all change happens in an instant.

You have the ability to elevate your life and transform your story in a single heartbeat whenever you decide that enough is enough, whenever you realize that you physically cannot continue living life the way that you have been living.

And this moment comes at different times for every person reading this.

Maybe your transformation was/will be precipitated by a divorce, a heart attack, a bankruptcy or another catastrophic event.

Or maybe it will be something much simpler and (for you) more profound.

Your story may change one morning when you look at yourself in the mirror and don’t like what you see. It might come whenever your wife or girlfriend asks if you really love them. Or maybe it will come when you wake up with a hangover for the sixth day in a row and realize that there has to be more to life.

But for some of you, you will never have these life-shattering events or enlightened moments of self-reproach.

For some of you, you must make the conscious decision that you are going to change your story.

No matter where you are in your life, you have the power to change everything in an instant.

If you have strong enough reasons and a powerful plan of action, you will succeed.

2. Discover Who You Really Are

Know thyself.

This is a tenant and axiom of life that is almost as old as life itself.

But how many of us actually take the time to apply it?

How many of us take the time out of our “busy” days that are filled to the brim with social media, meaningless sitcoms, and endless distractions to actually sit alone with ourselves in silence and ask the question “Who am I?”?

How many of delve deep into our own consciousness and psyche to discover who we really are and, more importantly, who we want to become?

Self-knowledge is the key to achieving success in every area of your life, and if you are not consciously taking time out of every day to sit in silence, meditate, and dive into your mind, then you are on a path that can only end in failure.

3. Take Full Responsibility for Yourself

Did you ever see the movie “Finding Nemo”?

Do you remember the part where Nemo gets stuck in the filter?

As he slaps his fins around helplessly all of the tank’s other occupants rush to help him, all except one.

The jaded old “Gill” comes over and orders every other fish in the tank to let Nemo find his own way out stating “You got yourself in there and you can get yourself out”.

Despite Nemo’s pleas and cries to the contrary, he eventually summons up the courage to pull himself out of the filter swim to safety.

Later in the movie, this simple action was all that it took to give Nemo the courage that he needed to escape captivity and be reunited with his father.

And while comparing your life to a movie about a missing fish might sound overly simplistic, the world’s greatest lessons are often shared in the simplest ways.

One of life’s simplest truths is this: If you want to be successful then you must take full responsibility for everything in your life and everything not in your life.

Your results are yours and yours alone.

Your choices determined the body, bank account, and relationships that you have right now.

And as soon as you are willing to admit this, you are able to take the leap forward and elevate your life.

As soon as you take responsibility you realize that you also have the ability to change the way that things are.

And no I don’t mean that you should constantly be putting yourself down or joking about your poor sexual performance.

What I mean is that the quickest way to success is to push yourself “down” and surround yourself with people who bring you up.

It is all too easy to gain a little bit of success, let it go to your head, and then surround yourself with people who are impressed by your accolades and accomplishments.

It is much harder to have the humility to put yourself in a room where you are out of your element, where everyone around you is more successful and more grounded, and to listen to what those people have to say.

Surround yourself with people who challenge you to be better, not people who are enamored with who you already are.

5. Turn Pro

If you want to succeed, if you want to be the best, if you want to be a professional is your field…

You must start to see yourself as such.

Because the simple truth is that how you see yourself is how you will show up in the world.

If you see yourself as a professional and cultivate the habits and mindsets of a professional in your field, then those are the results that you will achieve.

If you see yourself as a “dabbler” or an amateur, then that is how you will play the game and you will constantly be held by back by your own limited perception.

Turn pro.

See yourself as an A+ player, cultivate the right habits and mindsets, and your ‘game’ will never be the same.